


Hope

by alanna_the_lionheart



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Coda, Episode: s04e22 Lost in the Flood, F/M, Fluff, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Romance, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Suspense, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 18:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6968641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alanna_the_lionheart/pseuds/alanna_the_lionheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coda to 4x22. Darhk threatens Felicity, and as she fights to stay alive, she hopes that Oliver will reach her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Oliver hopes that there’s still a small spark of humanity left in Damien Darhk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I had a desperate need for Olicity kisses and hugs and cuteness, and since we haven’t had that on the show in a long time, I decided to write it myself. Consider this a bit of wishful thinking for 4x23. Enjoy!

**Hope**

 

“Go to Hell.”

 

Felicity spits out the words, not caring one bit that telling a man as powerful as Damien Darhk to go to Hell is probably not the wisest thing she could do. But after everything he’s done - all the lives he’s taken, the families he’s destroyed, the people he’s threatened - Felicity would rather die than do Damien Darhk a favor.

 

Darhk sighs, as though her response is a mere annoyance.

 

“Why bother? I’m gonna bring it to us.”

 

Felicity gulps, fighting back a rising sense of panic. Oliver told her that after he dropped off Darhk’s daughter, he’d come to the loft to check on them, then bring her to the lair so they could all regroup. She just has to keep Darhk distracted long enough for Oliver to arrive.

 

Of course, she has no idea what Oliver can do now that Darhk’s juiced up on tens of thousands of dead souls, but the thought that Oliver’s on his way fills her with the same sense of hope it always has.

 

No matter what they’re up against, Oliver always finds a way.

 

“What do you want?” she asks, hoping that a long Villain Explanation will buy her some more time. She shoves her arms back harder against Curtis and her mother, willing them to stay behind her. If Darhk wants to hurt them, there’s very little she can do to stop him, but that sure as hell doesn’t mean she won’t try.

 

“It’s quite simple, Ms. Smoak. I want to watch the world burn...and I’m going to start with you.”

 

Everything happens so fast.

 

Curtis and Donna step in front of her at the same time, and Felicity barely has time to scream “NO!” as Darhk puts up his arms and flings them to opposite sides of the room - without even touching them. Donna flies to her right and crashes into the table they’ve been using as a computer station, landing haphazardly amongst the chairs, which collapse on top of her. Curtis flies to the left, soaring over one couch and crashing into the coffee table before landing in a heap at the foot of the other couch.

 

She looks at her mother, then at Curtis. They both lie still and silent, and as she stares helplessly at their prone forms, she prays that they aren’t dead.

 

“Now, where were we?” Darhk asks, and Felicity turns back to him. Every instinct tells her to run, even though logically she knows she’d never make it far. She tries to move anyway, only to find that her feet are frozen to the floor. She gasps, trying desperately to move, but it’s like Darhk’s glued her shoes to ground.

 

“Ah, yes,” he continues, and as he smirks maliciously at her, Felicity feels her heart drop into her stomach. “Right about... _ here. _ ”

 

Darhk raises his right arm into the air and holds out his hand like he’s going to choke her, and Felicity whimpers helplessly as her feet leave the ground and an invisible force grips her throat tight. She kicks her legs out, trying to fight him off, to wiggle free, but it’s no use, and she knows it. She scratches at her throat, nails scraping at her skin as she tries to claw away the hand she can feel wrapped around her neck, but there’s nothing there. She bats uselessly at thin air.

 

“My wife is  _ dead  _ thanks to your precious hero,” Darhk spits out through clenched teeth. His grip on her throat tightens and Felicity gasps for air, her heart pounding faster in her chest. “He took my whole world from me, and now I’m going to take his.”

 

Felicity claws harder at the force around her throat, kicking her legs in protest. Her chest starts to tighten as her body fights for air. As she battles to stay conscious, an idea comes to her.

 

“Y….daugh...er,” she chokes out, struggling for words.

 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Darhk says with a laugh, and he unclenches his hand just the slightest. He doesn’t put her down, but the force around her throat loosens just enough that she can breathe again, and she gulps gratefully at the air rushing into her lungs.

 

“Your daughter...she’s still alive,” Felicity pants, lungs and throat burning.

 

Darhk stares at her wordlessly, and she can tell she’s struck a nerve.

 

“If you kill me, you’ll never find her,” she tells him.

 

He continues to stare at her, and she thinks that maybe she’s convinced him to let her go. But then he smirks again, and his eyes fill with a hatred unlike any Felicity’s ever seen pointed in her direction.

 

“You aren’t the only one who can tell me where she is. I’m sure I can find someone else who’d be willing to share. Your ex-fiance perhaps, or his little sister. Maybe even your darling mother.”

 

“No!” Felicity shouts, but it’s the only word she can get out as Darhk squeezes her throat once more, harder than before. It’s not long before she’s struggling for air again.

 

“When I’m done with you, I’m going to kill them, too,” Darhk growls, nodding first in Donna’s direction and then Curtis’s. “Oliver Queen is going to find nothing but _ corpses _ waiting for him when he gets home.”

 

Felicity whimpers, and she closes her eyes tight to keep from crying. This is a side of Damien Darhk she's never seen before. He's usually so good at keeping his emotions in check. She's never seen him this angry - this unhinged - and it scares her to the core.

 

Eventually, she draws up enough courage to open her eyes again. She looks first at Donna and then at Curtis. They’re both still unmoving, but if Darhk’s threats are real, then that means they’re still alive. 

 

For now.

 

Adrenaline floods her body, and with it a renewed desire to fight.

 

She’s not giving up. Not yet.

 

She scratches harder at the invisible force wrapped around her throat, thrashing her legs violently. This isn’t how she’s going to die. Not here, not now. Not while the city’s still in danger. Not while her mother and Curtis lie helpless on the floor. Not while she and Oliver….

 

She wants to scream, and tears of frustration fill her eyes as her body begins to shut down. She claws at her throat, hard enough that she draws her own blood, but it’s pointless. How can she fight something she can’t even see? He’s too powerful.

 

Her legs fall still, dangling underneath her. She grips her throat, but her hands are weak. She gasps, and she uses what little air she has left to make a last ditch plea for him to see reason.

 

“Your…. _ Nora _ ,” she wheezes, hoping the girl’s name might spark even the barest hint of humanity that may be left inside Damien Darhk.

 

His hand twitches, a move so subtle she barely sees it...but then he squeezes his hand together even tighter, making a fist, and the pressure on her throat doubles.

 

Her hands fall from her neck, and she can feel her heart thudding slow and weak in her chest. Her throat and lungs burn from lack of oxygen.

 

Finally, spots begin to dance before her eyes, and the room blurs at the edges of her vision.

 

Her eyes close, and an image forms in her mind.

 

_ Oliver’s kneeling in front of her, holding out a ring. He’s smiling wide, eyes shining with love and hope for a future. _

 

_ For  _ **_their_ ** _ future. _

 

_ “Felicity Smoak...would you make me...the happiest man...on the face of the Earth?” _

 

_ She smiles, nodding her head. She wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him. _

 

_ As she giggles out the word “yes” and bends down to kiss him, the image fades. _

 

The last thing she hears before the darkness takes her is Oliver calling her name.

 

* * *

 

He knows something is wrong the minute he gets off the elevator and finds the loft door standing open. After nearly ten years of fighting for survival, Oliver knows when to trust his gut.

 

Still in his Green Arrow suit, he pulls an arrow from his quiver and nocks it as he moves swiftly and quietly down the hallway. He turns the corner quickly and peers into the loft, his arrow pointed straight ahead, and he feels his heart crash into his stomach at the sight that meets him through the open door.

 

Donna: collapsed under a pile of chairs against the dining room table.

  
Curtis: crumpled at the foot of the couch.

 

And right in front of him: Felicity, hovering limp in midair, her chin resting against her chest.

 

He can’t tell if she’s alive or dead.

 

He doesn’t think; he just reacts. 

 

He screams her name, and he shoots three arrows into Darhk’s back in rapid succession before the bow is ripped from his hands and thrown across the room. Darhk waves his left hand and the arrows in his back dissolve into nothingness, as though they were never there.

 

Oliver takes two steps closer to Darhk before he crashes into an invisible barrier. Felicity continues to hang limp, and terror floods through him. He fights down the desire to throw up, clenching his hands into fists at his side instead.

 

“Let.Her. _ GO _ ,” he growls at Darhk. Despite the fact that his voice modulator is turned off, he sounds exactly like the Green Arrow.

 

Darhk turns to him. He keeps his hand up high, still holding Felicity in the air, and he smirks.

 

“You’re here just in time, Oliver. Your girl is a fighter, but I’m afraid she doesn’t have much time left.”

 

Oliver gazes up at Felicity, hanging limp and quiet above him. He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He may not be able to fight Darhk, but he has one card he can play.

 

“Your daughter’s still alive, Darhk.”

 

Damien doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even blink, as though he's heard this news already and is unimpressed.

 

Oliver keeps talking.

 

“Nora is safe and sound at Starling General. I brought her there myself thirty minutes ago.”

 

The hand that Darhk’s using to hold up Felicity loosens just the slightest, and Oliver notes that Felicity’s body sinks a tiny bit closer to the floor.

 

“I tried to save your wife, but she was buried under a pile of rubble. The city was collapsing around us, and there wasn’t enough time. She made me promise to get her daughter out safely...and I did.”

 

Oliver tries to move forward, and even though he crashes into the invisible wall again, it feels weaker.

 

“Your wife’s last words weren’t about your plan to end the world, or about seeking vengeance. They were about  _ her daughter _ .”

 

He tries to move again, and this time the wall gives way. He takes a step closer to Darhk, then another. Darhk watches him carefully, and though he doesn’t loosen his grip on Felicity he doesn’t shove Oliver away, either.

 

“Your daughter...your  _ Nora _ ...she just watched her mother die. Right now...she needs her father.”

 

And Oliver watches, heart pounding in his chest, as Darhk lowers his hand and lets Felicity crash hard against the floor. He tries to move past Darhk, but Darhk holds up a hand, and Oliver crashes into another invisible wall.

 

“Consider this a pass...for my daughter,” Darhk tells him, pointing a shaking finger at Oliver. “But you won’t get another one, Mr. Queen.”

 

Darhk steps around him, heading toward the door. Oliver turns with him, not willing to turn his back on him no matter what “pass” he seems willing to give. When Darhk meets his gaze, his eyes glow gold for a second, and suddenly Oliver finds that he can’t move. He’s not entirely sure if it’s Darhk’s magic or his own terror that keeps his feet planted to the floor, but it doesn’t matter. His heart hammers against his chest as Darhk's eyes return to their usual icy blue.

 

“You’re going to watch your precious city burn, Oliver, and with it...everyone you’ve ever cared about. Including  _ her _ .” He points a hand down at the floor, where Felicity lies still and quiet behind him. But Oliver can’t look away, and an icy cold floods his veins at the look of pure hatred burning in the man’s eyes.

 

And without another word, Darhk leaves.

 

Oliver wastes no time. He hurries to Felicity’s side, quickly but gently turning her over onto her back. Then he rips off his right glove and presses two fingers against her neck.

 

“Please, please, please,” he begs anyone who will listen, and he closes his eyes, heart hammering in his chest...and he finds it.

 

A pulse.

 

It’s weak, but it’s there. He runs a hand gently along her left shoulder and across her chest, resting it over heart, and he feels her chest rise and fall slowly. 

  
She’s still breathing.

 

He grips her shoulders carefully in his hands, rubbing them gently.

 

“Come on, come on, Felicity. Open your eyes for me.”

 

She doesn’t, and Oliver grips her shoulders harder, shaking her slightly.

 

“Wake up, Felicity. Come on. Wake up, honey. Open your eyes.  _ Please. _ ”

 

Oliver rests his right hand over her chest again and takes a deep breath, fighting down his own panic.

 

“Felicity-”

 

She wakes with a gasp, her eyes shooting open as she pants for air.

 

“Easy, easy,” he soothes her, rubbing softly at the spot over her heart. “Take it slow, you’re okay. Deep breaths, in and out.”

 

Felicity closes her eyes and does as he says, slowly calming her breathing.

 

“Oliver,” she gasps, her voice scratchy and raw.

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he reassures her, reaching down with his left hand and gripping her right hand tight. He squeezes it hard, and Felicity squeezes back. His right hand never leaves her chest, marveling at the feel of her heart beating under his palm, her skin warm and alive against his. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

 

“Help...help me sit up,” she asks him, and Oliver finally moves his hand off her chest, shoving it under her left shoulder instead. Gripping her hand tighter, he slowly and carefully pulls her into a sitting position.

 

Once she’s sitting up, he lets go of her shoulder and pulls back, giving her space to breathe, even though he wants nothing more than to pull her to his chest and never let go. 

 

But then she’s wrapping her arms around him and pulling him to her, and as she buries her head against his neck and breathes deeping, Oliver wraps his arms around her and holds her close. He doesn’t think twice as he puts his hands on her back and rubs soothing circles, murmuring “you’re okay” to her over and over. It’s not until she finally pulls away that Oliver realizes it’s more for  _ his _ benefit than hers.

 

“Mom...Curtis. Are they okay?” she asks him, eyes filled with worry.

 

Oliver’s heart starts to race. He’d forgotten all about them in his haste to make sure Felicity was okay. 

 

They turn to Donna at the same time...and they find her awake: watching them intently from where she sits on the edge of the computer table, arms crossed over her chest.

 

“Oliver?” Donna asks. Her tone is slightly reprimanding, suggesting that she already knows it’s him, and while she doesn't seem angry, it’s clear she’s not entirely pleased, either.

 

Oliver feels a blush rise in his cheeks, and he smiles sheepishly at her.

 

Felicity sighs, gesturing to his hood, and with a sigh of his own Oliver pushes the hood off his head and pulls of his mask.

 

“Hi,” he mutters lamely, not sure what else to say.

 

“Oliver Queen-”

 

Whatever Donna Smoak was about to say is interrupted by a sudden scream from Curtis, who sits bolt upright at the foot of the couch.

 

“BEEEEEES!”

 

Oliver flinches, while Donna shrieks from behind him and Felicity shouts “Frack!” as she grabs his knee.

 

Curtis looks around the room, taking in the sight of them one by one, panting heavily.

 

“There...there were bees,” he mutters, as though it needs explaining. “Lots and lots of bees.”

 

The change is palpable; Curtis’s outburst drains all the tension out of the room, until Oliver’s left feeling strangely... _ happy.  _ It should be ridiculous, but after the roller-coaster ride of emotions they've all been on recently, he's not really surprised.

 

He's not the only one who feels it, either.

 

Felicity laughs first, short and loud, and a smile tugs at Oliver’s lips as warmth floods through his body. Felicity’s laugh is a sound Oliver hasn’t heard in a long, long time, and it’s like music to his ears. She turns to look at him, her hand over her mouth as she tries to keep from laughing again, and Oliver can’t help it. It’s his turn to laugh, and when he starts he finds that he can’t stop. Pretty soon Felicity is laughing again, and out of the corner of his eye he sees that Donna’s started laughing, too.

 

Meanwhile, Curtis shivers with disgust, and he reaches up and pulls a blanket off the couch, wrapping it around his body like it’s going to protect him from the imagined bees.

 

“Don’t ever change, Curtis,” Felicity chuckles warmly, wiping tears out of her eyes, and Oliver smiles at her fondly. Then he wraps his arms around her again and pulls her into a tight hug.

 

She sighs, relaxing into his embrace, and the warm touch of her lips against his cheek soothes him. Oliver kisses her forehead in return before burying his face against her neck and breathing her in.

 

The fight’s not over - far from it - but for now, they’re both still alive.

 

And that means….

 

There’s hope.

 

_...the end… _


End file.
